A PRISONER has been found dead in his cell this morning - the second sudden death in custody in 24 hours.

This morning, prison officers at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise found the prisoner, who was in his 30s, unresponsive in his cell.

An ambulance was called but attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

The man's family has been informed. Foul play is not suspected.

Yesterday, a convicted killer was found dead in his cell in Mountjoy Prison

Prison bosses have also ruled out foul play in the death of Douglas Ward (38) whose body was found at 6.40am.

However, they have still not determined an exact cause of death of the criminal from Knockbridge, Co Louth.

Ward kicked 18-year-old Niall Dorr to death in a prolonged and vicious assault on Castle Street, Dundalk on October 13, 2010. He was originally jailed for 13 years for Mr Door's manslaughter but this was reduced to ten years by the Court of Appeal in January.

At the time, Mr Door's heartbroken parents spoke of their anger that Ward's sentence had been cut.

Father-of-three Ward attacked, punched and kicked the youth, bouncing his head off a road several times in an unprovoked attack, his sentencing hearing heard in December, 2012.

State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy said Mr Dorr died as a result of head trauma and a fracture to the skull which caused haemorrhaging.

She noted a zig-zag pattern on Mr Dorr's forehead which she concluded came when he was struck with an object such as a shoe in a stamping motion during the attack.